


Jacob Stone is a Mess, Okay?

by BabylonsFall



Series: Prompts [8]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Attempted anyway, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 03:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12379524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabylonsFall/pseuds/BabylonsFall
Summary: Jacob Stone is a mess. Cassandra and Ezekiel notice. And maybe they make it worse before they make it better.





	Jacob Stone is a Mess, Okay?

**Author's Note:**

> So I got this prompt from [hedgehog-o-brien](https://hedgehog-o-brien.tumblr.com) like. A week ago. And I am so sorry this took so long!
> 
> _A Jake hair appreciation fic from Ezekiel/Cassie's POV, based on your post about his consistent bed head._
> 
> ...This turned out less hair-appreciation and more appreciation for the mess that is Jacob Stone but! I hope you like it!
> 
> (And this is on the gen-side of things, but the intent was there at least?)

It was a thing.

They didn’t notice it at first. Of course not, their lives were too hectic, too many apocalypses on the horizon, too much falling into each other, learning to stand with each other rather than against to actually  _ notice  _ each other.

But, it was a thing.

And eventually, they did notice.

Cassandra was used to taking time and care with her appearance - nothing so fussy as what her mom likely originally had in mind when trying to teach her how to fix her hair, apply her makeup, where to shop and the like. But, she had a look that she enjoyed, and at this point in her life, she had gotten her morning routine down to an artform, and she didn’t see much reason to mess with it.

Ezekiel, on the other hand, knew he looked good, and enjoyed making sure he stayed that way. He didn’t go for complicated care routines - way too impatient for that - but, little things here and there added up. Manicures when he had the time, expensive hair products when he happened by the stores (and wasn’t the Back Door just an absolute gift for that), nice clothes worth more than he’d ever been able to dream of as a kid. He just. Liked nice things. And that had eventually evolved to include what he wore. He didn’t put too much thought into it, honestly.

And, when surrounded by the ever-professional Eve Baird and the unflappable Jenkins, with only the occasional whirlwind that was Flynn to muss everything up, neither had really connected that Stone had a completely different opinion about his looks than any of them.

Once they did notice, of course, it drove both of them up a wall, for better or worse.

If he came into the Library looking roughly put together, maybe it would’ve just slid by. But, he didn’t. He rolled into the Library in a never ending supply of flannel, beat up jeans, permanently rumpled and rolled up shirts, and a chronic case of bedhead, that would progressively get worse as the day went on.

Cicely had proven he knew how to use a hairbrush, alright. But, apparently, asking him to use it on a regular basis was just too much.

And they both knew it would be pointless to try to get him to straighten out his hair in the mornings if he was just going to spend all day running his hands through it in frustration (or a nervous tick or just a habit he’d never been able to break).

But he’d looked  _ nice  _ in Cicely. More… put together. Sure of himself. Less frazzled.

(And, later, they’d admit, maybe a little odd.)

Neither of them really thought bringing it up would be  _ weird _ . Honestly.

But an aside from Ezekiel - “Lose a fight with a weedwacker this morning, mate?” - and a comment later from Cassandra - “It’s just so… fluffy!” - had gotten them both odd looks from the cowboy. Odd looks and a weird silence as he pushed his hands through his hair and left both of those conversations as quickly as possible.

And maybe if they’d taken the hint then, it wouldn’t have been anything.

But…

“Are you and brushes just not on speaking terms?”

“Rough night last night?”

“What happened to those clothes from Cicely anyway? Did our wardrobes just disappear or what?”

“Did you sleep here?”

“You should should try this hair g- Jacob? Where’re you going?”

So, yeah, maybe they were being a little nosey. And obvious.

And maybe they missed it the first couple of days Jacob came into the Library in new jeans, and either new button ups or at least… nicer ones. Without the permanent rolls in the sleeves. It was a small change at first, and they noticed more him fidgeting with the sleeves than they did the sleeves themselves. But it still didn’t sink in until he started coming into the Library looking… well, like he stepped out of Cicely. Hair neat, new jacket without the wear and tear of his normal favorites. If his sleeves were rolled up, they were crisp, even turns that stayed put.

No more hands being pushed through his hair, no matter how long he stayed at the Library. No more old beanies pushed low over his eyes. No more layers that made him look soft and rumpled and bright-eyed.

He looked good. And he also looked fidgety, uncomfortable, and nothing like he had in Cicely, once Ezekiel and Cassandra got over the initial excitement.

Whoops.

Eve had just snorted at them when they’d brought it to her to try and fix it.

(Not that they were  _ planning  _ to go to her about it, mind you. She just… happened on them talking about it in the kitchen in a really intense whispered conversation that had stopped the second she’d walked in. It would’ve looked worse if they  _ hadn’t  _ told her about it. But, she’d just snorted, threw up her hands, and walked out, leaving them to their fate. Which, fair.)

Jenkins had given them a Look. And gone back to his latest experiment. Loads of help there.

By that point, they’d watched Jacob shuffle around the Library looking even more and more uncomfortable each day for a week. And comments from either of them hadn’t seemed to help.

“Got a date tonight or something? You look nice, but also nervous? You okay?”

“What happened to that old army jacket of yours?”

“I didn’t mean fluffy as in bad, you know?”

If anything, he’d just given them more odd looks, and left those conversations even quicker.

Which, they couldn’t blame him for that. They’d both thought he’d… be more comfortable, more put together. Cassandra had wanted to see him confident, strong-footed, and settled again. Ezekiel had missed the bright smiles, easy movement, and smoothed out comfort he had carried with him.

Of course, like anyone could’ve guessed, they hadn’t realized he’d been  _ better  _ when they got back from Cicely until it was gone.

He hadn’t been put together sure, but he was energetic, excitable, not falling apart. His clothes had been well-loved and cared for, homey and well-worn for all their wear and tear. And his consistent bedhead? Adorable. (Lots of blushing, stammering and general  _ Oh...OH!  _ on both sides from that revelation). And both of them wanted it back.

Problem.

They didn’t really… know how.

They all put up with it for another week, just because neither could really… figure out how to fix this. And apparently, that was enough for Eve and Jenkins.

Movie night - the bi-monthly(-ish, they were trying, okay) tradition they were doing their very best to keep up for team morale or whatever Cassandra had finally sold it to Eve as. Ezekiel didn’t know, and hadn’t really questioned it in the face of Cassandra’s excitement for it.

Regardless, apparently, that night, the other two in the Library that had been subject to watching this mess unfold had decided enough was enough. The theatre they normally commandeered for the night was suspiciously lacking the normal overabundance of couches that normally crowded the space. In their place was two armchairs for Eve and Jenkins, and a couch between them. When Jacob had snorted at the layout and gone to sit on the floor, Eve had outright shoved him to sit down between an equally startled Cassandra and Ezekiel, with a pointed look their way that quite plainly said  _ Fix. This _ . How she managed that, neither of them had ever been able to figure out (though Ezekiel was pretty sure she was trading tips with Jenkins).

They lasted half-way through the movie, sitting awkwardly and avoiding looking at each other - while Jenkins and Eve pointedly ignored the three of them - before Ezekiel had heaved a sigh, grumbled something the other two didn’t catch, and twisted to prop his legs across Jacob and Cassandra’s laps with a huff.

Jacob had blinked at him with a very clear  _ really?  _ going unspoken. Ezekiel had just grinned at him and shrugged, which had caused Jacob to snort out a low laugh and shake his head, relaxing for the first time in days. Cassandra had given a bright smile and a thumbs up in response.

Both spent the rest of the movie and the next slowly but surely integrating themselves into Jacob’s personal space, and, for a wonder, Jacob made no move to stop them.

(Ezekiel would have to ask Cassandra later how she’d managed to muss up the man’s hair without either of them noticing though. That was pretty impressive. And Cassandra made a note to figure out how Ezekiel’s nimble fingers had undone the buttons on the cuffs of his sleeves without either of them noticing.)

By the time everyone decided to call it a night, Jacob was well on the way to looking his normal, rumpled, soft and bright-eyed self.

And if Cassandra and Ezekiel had to help him along until he got the hint, so be it.

(They were pretty sure he got it though, when, when he stood up to stretch after the movies, he’d yawned and shoved his hands through his hair with only a moment of hesitation. Only to realize it was already a mess, and shooting them both a Look that didn’t have a chance in hell of distracting from the smile ticking up the corner of his lips.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated, always!
> 
> (This is cross-posted on tumblr over [here!](https://distinctivelibrarians.tumblr.com/post/166453865911))


End file.
